HOUSTON -- Robinson Cano has been hitting home runs on every day of the week lately. But yeah, launching a long ball with a pink bat on Mother's Day meant a little extra to the Mariners' red-hot second baseman.
"It's always good to call your mother and say, 'That one was for you,'" Cano said after hitting a solo homer in Seattle's 5-1 loss to the Astros. "It's a special day, so those are days you want to deliver."
But, no, the man who makes $24 million a year wasn't trying to shortchange his mom back home in the Dominican.
"I already sent her flowers earlier," Cano said with a laugh. "I don't mess with that. I always send her flowers and stuff. I'm the only child, so that makes it even harder. If you don't send flowers and then you forget that day, you're in trouble."
Like all Major League teams, the Mariners were pretty in pink on Sunday in their series finale against the Astros. As part of Major League Baseball's "Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer" initiative, Mariners players swung pink bats, wore pink shoes, pink socks, pink wristbands, you name it.
Cano said it was his second time homering with a pink bat, having gone deep in 2013 against the Royals' Ervin Santana on Mother's Day while playing for the Yankees.
Authentic game-used Louisville Slugger pink bats and other gear from Mother's Day games will be auctioned exclusively at MLB.com, with proceeds benefiting the fight against breast cancer. The complete Mother's Day collection -- which includes the special caps and jerseys being worn by players on Sunday -- is available at the MLB.com Shop.
Third baseman Kyle Seager eyeballed shoes provided to him before the game that were a bright mix of colors.
"There's definitely pink in there. And lots of flowers," said Seager, who wound up opting for his normal black cleats. "It's Mother's Day, you send flowers, right? Maybe I can just send her these."
But in all seriousness, Seager and his teammates appreciate the message behind the whole color scheme.
"Mother's Day is a very special day for me and all of us," said Seager, whose mom raised three professional ballplayers, including his brother Corey with the Dodgers and Justin with the Mariners' Class A Advanced Bakersfield club. "It's a special day when you can honor your mom."
The Mariners were having a little extra fun with uniforms anyway on Sunday after veteran reliever Joel Peralta had warmed up in the bullpen in the wrong-colored jersey during Saturday night's 3-2 victory over the Astros and manager Scott Servais had to send a batboy scurrying across the field in the middle of the seventh inning to deliver the correct top.
When Peralta arrived in the clubhouse for Sunday's game, someone had already placed his correct jersey on the back of his chair so he couldn't miss it.
"We do have a lot of jerseys," Servais said. "We've got the green, the blue, the gray, the white, the off-cream. We do have a lot. And pink."